Where Angels Fear to Tread
by Virgins-and-Surgeons
Summary: In the dark metropolis of Karakura City, Ichigo, Renji and Rukia are homeless teens running from the police and phantasms only known as 'Angels'. They would never expect to meet others running from their own Angels. Would never expect to band together. AU
1. Another Cold Night

Suffocating. The shades in the alleyway were so damn claustrophobic, pressing down upon his figure leaned against the cool red brick. The clicking of a lighter; a small speck of fire jumped to life, bringing the smoker's face into view as he attempted to light his cigarette. A shock of bright orange hair, tired brown eyes glinting in the weak light as the flame died and left only the smallest of bright ovals at the end of his cigarette to light the dark. He was sore, he was hungry, but most of all…he was so very, very_ tired_.

_**It**_ was stalking him still; he could feel those eyes on his back. Just waiting, waiting for the chance to strike him down. That damn thing was always watching him, and he often wondered what was making it hesitate. Why it hadn't done to him what it's ilk had done to so many others. It wanted to. He was connected to it in a sick and twisted sort of bond; he could feel what it wanted to do to him. It _wanted_ to, so very badly. But it never did, it never had. He was always running away from it, and it was always at his back and breathing down his neck.

"It wants to…you want to finally finish me off, don't you?" He asked to the sky, to the air. To the dull red brick building before him, forming the other half of the dank and dark alleyway. It was wet here, cold through the middle of an icy autumn. It always seemed to be raining in Karakura City, and this autumn was no different. And right now, this dank and cold alleyway was the place where he was currently taking one of his few breaks. Ichigo Kurosaki never got much of a break ever since_** it**_ began to follow him. None that he asked would ever take him in, never again. The damning mark was bright and visible on his face, emblazoned on his left cheek as if branded there by some invisible iron; a large ring of thick black. The mark that belonged to _**them**_, the sign that the bearer was to be paid a visit. No sane human being would ever take in a person bearing their mark; it was madness to do so. It was practically suicide.

Every mark was different for every mark bearer, and no one really knew why. Ichigo's had been a large O on his left cheek. He took a deep drag off of his smoke. Maybe his schoolteachers were right. Maybe those cancer sticks would kill him. He was kind of hoping that this drag would kill him dead, and that…that_** thing**_ wouldn't get him. The last thing he wanted was to have it catch him, to know what it was like for the others that had been caught by _**theirs.**_ Ichigo's sanity was already fraying, as was everyone else's; they had all been through things that no human being should experience. Hunted, like animals; they held no peace of mind. Every moment was on edge, the constant knowledge that those things could show up out of anywhere, could grab them and do them in as they did so many others took a toll on them like nothing else could.

It was a sort of psychological torture that could know no bounds.

Ichigo closed his eyes as he sighed openly, smoke floating out before him. It was watching him, it was always right there and waiting. He could never shake the feeling that someone was staring intently at him at every moment in time, could never have rest for fear of his monster coming to take him away, to drag him off and catch him in a deadly embrace. They wanted to be free, yet how can one be free when they have a creature watching over them at every second in time?

"Fuck." Ichigo growled, dropping the butt of his smoke and grinding it out with the toe of his boot. The wet pavement aided in this action, and left the butt a black smear across dark gray pavement as Ichigo walked back down the alley to the others. He was wearing a long black trench coat, flying open, as the belt was lost long ago. Maybe it broke. Who knows. The ends of the coat were frayed and torn, sleeves ripped here and there from calls much too close. A plain and unassuming black sweater was under it, and a long tattered red scarf was currently wound around his neck. It had been a gift from his family, before he had been targeted by his monster and ran away from his only home, to protect them. He wore blue jeans, large holes worn in the knees and the occasional clean cut through the fabric where he had been caught on the sharp end of a knife. Ichigo had enemies; he had a rival/attempted killer, too. A violent jackass who had some shit with Kurosaki. The kind of shit that Ichigo didn't even know the source of.

Stepping into the dim light of a steel drum bonfire, Ichigo looked to everyone in their little family. Renji Abarai was sitting on a dull green dumpster, the lid held half open by a couple rotted two-by-fours. He was wearing black jacket over a dirty white t-shirt, and dull brown pants that looked darker now than they were when they were made. Renji Abarai, the only one in the entire group who hadn't been targeted. He and Ichigo had started out rivals, but had grown to be friends through the influence of the small woman sitting near the drumfire, warming her hands. Rukia Kuchiki, orphan and targeted. A large black K was on her left hand, visible for only a moment as she pulled on some fingerless gloves to attempt to warm her cold hands with. Her hair was greasy from not being washed in a long time, knotted a bit here and there from lack of care or just having things get in it. But at the same time, her eyes were the brightest sort of violet; an odd purple color that had caught Ichigo's attention from the very beginning, on the night that he had met Rukia and Renji. He'd tripped over Rukia while running from his invisible stalker, not paying attention to what was in front of him and the two of them had slammed into the concrete. When he got up, she had been up as well and Ichigo had had to deal with a pissed Rukia and a doubly pissed Renji, and Kurosaki had been sure that the red-haired thug was going to kill him. But the two of them had seen his Stigmata, the black mark on his face signifying that he was targeted. Rukia had shown him hers, on her left hand. They had decided to travel together, seeing as Ichigo couldn't go back home and to what Ichigo had found out later, Rukia and Renji were homeless, had grown up on the cruel streets from children to their current ages.

They had formed a group, a gang. Maybe even a pseudo family, though Ichigo still missed his sisters and his father greatly. But it was better this way, better that he was the only one in danger of this thing that was always with him.

Ichigo walked forward into the warmth of the drumfire, dropping onto the gravel heavily. He looked to Renji, who tossed a can of something at him. Ichigo read the label with confusion, before waving it in the air at Renji.

"The fuck you get canned corn from?" He queried, before Renji scoffed. The redhead's tattooed eyebrows were eerie in the low flickering light cast by the makeshift bonfire. Ichigo always said that he got tattooed eyebrows because his old pair must have looked fucking retarded. That usually got a fight out of Renji and an agreed laugh from Rukia. God knew they needed the laughs.

"None of your damn business where I got the shit. Eat it." Renji half-ordered, closing his eyes again. He obviously wasn't going to tell, and so Ichigo shrugged and dug into his pocket. He pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed it in the lid, and after slicing open the top of the can he tipped it back and let the contents run down his throat. Cold corn, cheap and tasteless. But it was something in his stomach, something greatly appreciated.

Rukia looked over at Ichigo and caught the can, looking into it. He hadn't eaten more than a mouthful.

"You stupid ass, you're gonna starve if you keep up this shit." She scolded him, taking a gulp herself. Ichigo waved her off, ignoring her protests to his eating habits.

"I'll live. You need it more anyway, since you have to grow another five or so feet to be normal height."

It was a blow given with a wry smirk, and Rukia fumed. "Shaddap! I'm perfectly normal height, dammit!" She shouted, before turning around and throwing the near empty can at Renji's head.

"And you stop giggling like a goddamn idiot!" She continued, watching with satisfaction as the can collided with the side of Renji's head. He flinched as it hit, the ice-cold juice from the can spilling out onto his crotch.

"SHIT!!" Renji screeched, pulling the can up and attempting to wipe out the stain with the sleeve of his jacket. It didn't work, and Rukia and Ichigo were practically crying with laughter at his perfect reaction.

"It's not that goddamn funny! Now it looks like I pissed all over myself!!" Renji groaned, looking in the can with a sigh. It was almost empty. Again.

"We never have enough food to last." He sighed, finishing the can off and tossing it down the alley haphazardly. Rukia had moved back to warming her hands on the fire, her smile fading a bit at the statement. Ichigo returned to his somber manner, closing his eyes.

"Yeah." Was all Rukia could come up with, speaking quietly. They were all hungry, all of the time. And they could never stop moving.

"It's because of those damn things." Renji growled, deep-seated hatred in his voice. They all felt it, even if Renji didn't bear a mark or have one of those beings at his back.

"The Angels." Ichigo spoke, sounding eerie in his somber tone. Rukia and Renji froze at the name, the title given to those things that shared a mark with them. Renji didn't have a mark, didn't have an Angel. But both Rukia and Ichigo did, shown by the marks they bore. The marks were known as 'Stigmata', and appeared on the body of one that would be visited by an Angel. The bearers of a Stigmata and subsequently, an Angel were called the 'Anointed Ones' or just the Anointed.

And Karakura City hated them.

Anointed weren't welcome within the city; they were seen as the source of the Angel Epidemic, as it were called. And since Ichigo and Rukia were Anointed, and would be ostracized by humanity, Renji would stay with them. They were all some screwed up sort of family. They relied on each other.

"Awright, who's taking watch tonight?" Renji yawned, stretching on his spot on top of the dirty green dumpster. Small popping noises could be heard, and Rukia grimaced.

"You know I hate it when you pop your shoulders. It sounds fucking nasty."

Ichigo sat up, yawning a bit as well. "I'll take watch for a shift, then I'll come kick your ass awake and you can take a shift." He told Renji, settling up against the wall to watch just in case an Angel showed. Renji and Rukia both nodded, Rukia catching Ichigo's coat as he flung it at her.

"Use it to cover up; it's cold out tonight." Ichigo told her, and she stared hard at him. "You're gonna get pneumonia or some shit, and then you'll die. Ya know that, right?" She asked in a rhetorical sort of way, already pulling it over her smaller frame. Ichigo smirked, closing his eyes for a brief moment before reopening them and beginning to keep watch. "Just go to bed, Rukia. I won't get pneumonia; what would _**it**_ do if I died?"

Renji and Rukia settled down, sleeping as lightly as always while Ichigo kept watch for any sign of movement. Anything at all and he'd wake the two of them up, so they could run like hell if necessary.

It was quiet times like this that he thought back to his family. What were they doing? Did they look for him? He did jump out a window and disappear into the night, after all; no goodbye note, no sign that he ever wanted anything to do with them ever again. There had been no fights with his dad beforehand; they would no doubt figure out that something was terribly wrong for the normally good kid Ichigo Kurosaki to run off and join up with a couple ne'er-do-well orphans. All he really hoped for was that his family wouldn't come looking for him and wouldn't find him. The last thing he wanted to look his old man in the face and say was, 'Dad, I'm Anointed. From now until I die, an Angel is going to be stalking by steps and waiting for the moment to-'

A loud shout broke him from his reverie, and the three homeless teens shot up from their spots on the ground. Someone was running at them as fast as their legs would carry them, shouting about something in a tone so hysterical that they couldn't make it out. A figure rounded the corner and came barreling at them, short brunette hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. Ichigo squinted at the kid that was probably his own age, before his eyes widened.

"Asano? What the hell-" He began, before Keigo ran past them and an ethereal being turned the corner that Keigo had just cleared, smiling as innocently as a child. Renji, Rukia and Ichigo froze at the sight of the young man with the oddly light complexion, even though it was the early hours of the morning. It almost looked as if the sun was shining on him on a warm summer day.  
"It's an Angel!!" Renji shouted, grabbing Rukia by the arm and beginning to run as if his life depended on it. Ichigo grabbed his coat from the ground where it had fallen and dashed after them, running as hard as humanely possible as they all were. Nobody dared look back at the figure of the shorthaired boy around Ichigo's age, smiling genially at their backs.

"Keigo, what the fuck?!" Ichigo shouted at Asano's back, and realized that Keigo was babbling apologies in a mad fashion as he ran. They decided to ask Keigo later as they continued running, turning what felt like billions of corners and running through countless alleyways before finally coming to a point where they could run no longer. They all collapsed against the walls, panting and gagging and hacking, Keigo himself having run himself to the point of sickness. He vomited in the corner, gasping and hacking and gagging and coughing, unable to do more than just suck in deep breath after deep breath.

They all just attempted to bring themselves back to a normal state for what felt like an eternity, before the group of four could speak again.

"Keigo…Keigo, what happened…" Ichigo spoke, leaning against the stone wall. Rukia and Renji gave him odd looks, as if to say 'You know this kid?'; he could see it in their faces. Keigo turned to look up at Ichigo with confusion, before his eyes brightened up.

"Ichigo...you're alive…we thought you ran off and got killed by that punk that was after you…" He breathed, looking at Ichigo closely and stopping in whatever else he was about to say when he saw the large O on Ichigo's cheek. It all clicked into place, and Keigo leaned back.

"You're…sorry." He stated, looking downwards. Ichigo groaned aloud. "Don't apologize, it makes you look like a puss. Now why the hell did you have an Angel behind you?" He cut to the heart of the situation, and Keigo's expression darkened. He was silent a moment, staring down meaningfully at his limp hands as if they would give him an answer. After a moment more, he began to laugh in an odd sort of way, a slow, sad way.

"You already know, don't you?" He half asked, half stated while pulling up his sleeve. A large black M was on his wrist. Renji and Rukia looked closely at the Stigmata, as if attempting to discern the identity of the Angel. But they looked at Ichigo and saw the dark expression he was wearing, saw him lean back against the wall as Keigo looked away and laid a hand over his Stigmata.

"How did it happen. What happened to him, Keigo." Ichigo deadpanned, staring straight at the teenager sitting across from him. The brunette was silent a moment more, before beginning.

"He and I…it was his mother. She called and they got in an argument, and then he snapped at me and we got in a fight. We were on the school roof. He got too close and…I…I didn't know that the railing was rusted…" He trailed off, his voice returning to a slowly heightening pitch of hysteria. Ichigo just ignored him, closing his eyes.

"You killed Mizuiro." He deadpanned, and Keigo wrung his hands as if it would wipe away the mark of his guilt.

"I didn't mean to! He got too close and I shoved him; I didn't know! I didn't know the railing would break and he'd fall!" The teen shouted, obvious distress over what he had done eating away at him. Ichigo opened his eyes again as Rukia and Renji watched.

"Doesn't matter. Mizuiro was turned into an Angel, and now he's coming after you." He stated in a sort of monotone, no sympathy for his former friend present. Ichigo had changed with his Stigmata; he saw how people would treat him just because of it, and became bitter towards those people and people in general, aside from Rukia and Renji. At the moment, Keigo had his hands hidden in his lap, staring blankly at nothing.

"My sister threw me out. She told me I was too dangerous now." He stated blankly, looking at the three companions he had.

"You…who are these guys?" He motioned to Rukia and Renji, who sat up at their acknowledgment.

"I'm Renji Abarai, and this is Ru-" Renji began, before he got an elbow in the gut.

"I can introduce myself! I'm not three, you know!" Rukia berated him, before smiling very innocently to a slightly horrified looking Keigo.

"My name is Rukia Kuchiki. Good to meet you." She smiled angelically, as Keigo looked to Ichigo slightly horrified still.

"Is that normal?" He motioned to Renji, still recovering from the elbow. Ichigo shrugged in an apathetic and uninterested sort of way, which wasn't helpful in the least to answering Keigo's question. Rukia looked closer at Keigo, pulling her knees to her chest and setting her hands on them. At the moment she was wearing a slightly ripped long-sleeve lavender shirt with a Chappy bunny on it, and dirty blue jeans with holes in the knees. Her fingerless gloves covered the Stigmata on her left hand, so she wouldn't have to look at it.

"So, you don't have anywhere to go?" She asked, and Keigo nodded. Rukia looked to Renji and Ichigo, and both knew what she was going to propose. Ichigo nodded, and Renji sighed.

"We don't have enough food as it is…but fine. Hey you, brown boy. You're going to stay with us, 'cos there's no other place in Karakura City that's going to take in an Anointed. Got it?" He ordered, and Keigo blinked.

"Uh…what? With you guys? Where do you live?"

Rukia, Renji and Ichigo snorted and laughed at the question. Renji smirked at Keigo, answering the highly confused young man.

"Nowhere. We're homeless; couldn't you tell when you ran by us sleeping near a steel drum fire?" He laughed a bit, and Keigo frowned.

"But if you guys don't have a home, where do you go when it rains? What do you guys eat?"

Renji sighed, and Ichigo pulled his scarf over his mouth.

"When it rains, we hide under a building whose roof hangs over enough for us to huddle under. Or we hide in an abandoned building, if we're real lucky; you know how hard it is to find an abandoned building nowadays, with all the 'city renewal' renovation plans going on and all that." The orange-haired young man answered Keigo, the top half of his Stigmata visible over the top of the scarf. Rukia chimed in right about there, messing with her gloves.

"We eat whatever we can find. It's not a lot; we barely have anything most of the time, but we survive. Mostly it's a can of something for dinner, if we still have cans of food from our raids. We don't get a can each, of course; we share one."

Keigo listened, slightly taken aback at the Anointed lifestyle. He was still dressed relatively nicely, only recently homeless and so if he hid his Stigmata, he might be able to pass off as a normal kid. Nowadays though, the Police Chief had everyone checked very thoroughly if they were going to enter some sort of shelter, and people were wary of accepting strangers for fear of a visit from an Angel.

"You guys don't have a home base?" Keigo asked, and they shook their heads.

"That asshole Police Chief Tosen has every abandoned building checked whenever they're found, and any Anointed inside are arrested and put in Purgatory. We can't risk being caught." Ichigo murmured, and Keigo frowned at the name 'Purgatory'.

"Purgatory? Sounds painful."

Renji, Rukia and Ichigo's demeanors darkened at the mention of Purgatory.

"Purgatory is where they put the Anointed they capture. It's a little walled-off section of the city, a town for Anointed to wait for their Angels to come and take them. We're always on the run to make sure we don't get discovered and arrested, because if they find out we're Anointed, they'll put us there. You too, now." Rukia narrated, before motioning to Ichigo.

"He's in the most danger. That Stigmata is right smack dab on his face; that's why Ichigo has to wear that scarf most of the time."

At the announcement, Ichigo pulled his scarf upwards a bit more. The long red garment hung limply from his shoulder, trailing down onto the dirty ground that Ichigo sat upon. It's ends were frayed, it was very dirty and was obviously old. Keigo moved his hand over the Stigmata on his arm, tracing the large M with his finger.

"…So this is my life from now on. Running from the Angels and living homeless."

Ichigo, Rukia and Renji nodded.

"Yup. Get used to the fast lane kid, because you're on it." Renji told him, looking around the alley they were sitting in.

"Well, it looks like we should be able to rest here for tonight. We'll wake up early and get moving again, see if we can find something to eat."

Ichigo and Rukia nodded, as Ichigo pulled off his coat and tossed it at Keigo's head. Keigo didn't catch it like Rukia did and it caught him in the face unexpectedly.  
"Bwuh? What was that for?" Keigo asked defensively, before pulling the coat off of his head and seeing all three others curled up or laying against the wall, sleeping. Keigo shivered at the chill wind blowing through the alleyway, pulling Ichigo's coat on and laying down on the concrete. He noticed that Ichigo wasn't asleep and was watching down the alleyway silently, like a guardian.

'_He's so much different now. It's been one year since he ran off, but he's nothing like he used to be. Ichigo seems older. More…worn.'_

Keigo closed his eyes, wanting to get some small amount of sleep before the morning came and he was off on some crazy adventure involving evading the police and supernatural beings intent on killing them, all while trying to find something to eat.

Meanwhile, Ichigo kept awake, a silent vigil for any that would wish the small group harm.

* * *

**((Well, this is my newest project and addiction. If it goes right, then this story should last a good while and focus on the Anointed, their stories and their fleeing from the Angels and the city itself. Anyone have any good ideas for Angels and Anointed, I'm open, though I've already got most of them planned out.))**


	2. Run, Run, Run

It was a hard shove that awoke Keigo Asano from his deep slumber. More like a kick, actually.

"Wake up, dammit!" He heard a rough voice bark, and opened his eyes to see Abarai staring down at him, his foot hovering and poised for another alarm clock kick. Rukia was already awake, yawning a bit and stretching. Keigo mumbled something in tiredness, sitting up. He rubbed his eyes with the sleeves of Ichigo's trench coat, looking up at Renji.

"Ow, the hell was that for? You could've told me to wake up without the kicking." He grumbled, and heard Renji scoff loudly. "We don't do it that way when you're a lazy ass. Get up, we're moving on. The police do random alley sweeps, and we don't want to get caught up tryin' to explain why we're sleeping in one." Renji ended the small one-way conversation, walking over and beginning to speak with Rukia. Keigo himself sat up further, yawning before looking over and seeing Ichigo with his back against the wall, his eyes closed. His scarf was around his face, as usual, and Keigo half-wondered why Renji didn't go kick Ichigo awake.

"Favoritism, probably." He muttered to himself, crawling over and reaching out to touch Ichigo's shoulder. "Hey Ichi-" He began, almost touching before a hand caught his by the wrist. Ichigo's brown eyes were open and focused on him in an intensity that filled Keigo with an instant of pure, focused terror. Soon enough, Ichigo threw back his hand and stood, walking past Keigo and over to the watching Renji and Rukia.

"Just because someone's eyes are closed doesn't mean they're asleep." Ichigo spoke dully, not looking back to Keigo. Asano vaguely noticed he himself was shaking slightly, as he watched the three speak briefly and then stare at him.

"Ready or not?" Ichigo asked him with the slightest hints of impatience in his normally dull, emotionless voice. Something had definitely changed about Ichigo Kurosaki, something huge. Keigo shot up, nearly losing his balance but regaining it quickly. The three experienced teens either sighed, rolled their eyes or did nothing at all aside from turn around as they began walking, and Keigo stumbled after them.

The three moved in silence for a long time, Renji, Rukia, and Ichigo not needing words to know what each other agreed or disagreed upon. They moved collectively, the early morning sun shining in their eyes and illuminating the four teens moving around through the alleys, into the busy streets of Karakura City.

People bustled about, shoving past them as they walked with the flow of human traffic down the street. Keigo had trouble keeping up with them and how quickly they were able to move through all the people. He did keep up though, followed them as they kept moving, towards no particular target it seemed. They just weaved through heavily crowded streets and places, stopped for brief rests in parks or libraries, before beginning to move again in their aimless wandering. Keigo was exhausted by it. The three others didn't even seem to be tired.

"Damn you guys, you never stop moving! Where the hell are we going, anyway?" He asked them as they sat in a back alley alone. A quick allowance for Keigo, they had decided upon. Immediately, all three of Keigo's companions reached into their pockets and pulled out wallets that weren't theirs, beginning to dig through them for money. It must have been comical to see Keigo's aghast expression at seeing Ichigo pull out five wallets from one of his large trench coat pockets, three from the other. The other two could only hold two wallets each, and they all pulled out money and tossed it in the center of their circle, like a pot.

"I got a ten and a five." Renji tossed the money in, throwing the wallets against the wall. "A twenty, three ones and a nickel." Rukia spoke, throwing her money in and tossing the wallets in against where Renji's had landed. They all waited with bated breath for Ichigo's total, and he tossed the five wallets at once against the wall into the pile, while dropping a ten in there. That was it, just a ten.  
"Wh-what the fuck?!" Renji exclaimed, groaning at the low count in money. "Eight wallets and all you get is a ten?! It's all those taxes by that fucking asshole Mayor! God, this isn't even enough to last us a week." He sighed at the end, and Keigo blinked, looking between the three.

"That's forty-eight dollars, right? We can live off it, can't we?" He asked them, and caught three simultaneous glares.

"No, we fucking can't. Do you know how much it costs a week to feed three people? It costs eighty bucks to make sure we get enough of the stuff we need to keep our energy up enough to run from the Angels. Four people would be around a hundred and five, probably. Not counting when I need tampons and shit." Rukia hissed, setting her face back in her hands in exasperation as Renji made a distinct face at the mention of female things that he didn't exactly find great interest in. Keigo counted that up, looking in abstract horror at the small amount of money they had.

"That means we can't even feed ourselves today and tomorrow!" He exclaimed, and they all glared at him in that 'We fucking know you retard' kind of way. He looked away sheepishly, and they all returned to their introspection as Rukia scooped up the money and hid it in her bra. Keigo spotted the glint of something silvery in the wallet pile; he crawled over and picked it up, showing it to them in glee.

"A credit card! We can use this to…to…" He trailed off, seeing them all roll their eyes, mutter something or…not react at all.

"We're pickpockets, not identity thieves. You think we want to put people in our position?" Ichigo stated scaldingly, and Keigo dropped the credit card back in the pile. He was defeated. They were always more knowledgeable than him, always faster and smarter and well versed in this world much beyond what he could ever hope to achieve. For now, anyway. Out of the four, Keigo was the fresh-faced, naive kid. They all looked at the setting sun, beginning to get up and move around again. Ichigo used a lighter to light up some flammable newspapers from a dumpster and threw the wallets and credit cards inside, watching them melt. When they were an acrid-smelling pile of goop, he turned and walked with Renji and Rukia out of the alleyway, moving up ahead of them. Keigo tripped over himself to follow them, before Ichigo turned a corner and someone crashed into him, causing him to stagger back. They muttered an apology and Ichigo did the same, until he noticed that the woman he'd crashed into was staring at his face. The scarf had fallen off in the jarring crash, and his Stigmata was shown to the world.

"An Anointed!!" She shouted, and got the attention of people nearby who hit speed-dial on their phones, calling the Anointed Retrieval Squad to the presence of Anointed. It was required by law to report any Anointed spotted, and most people hated them anyway so they would've done it without that stupid ass law. Ichigo shoved past the woman, calling back to Rukia, Renji and Keigo with a 'Run like a bitch!!' as they began moving. And they did indeed run like bitches. Keigo barely kept up at all with the three who were used to running for their lives at random intervals of time with barely any rest; he was new, and he sure as shit wasn't. They ran down alleys, jumped across dumpsters to throw off pursuers, climbed up fire escapes and ran across roofs, all sorts of insane acrobatic shit that Keigo just couldn't keep up with. They were still running when he slowed down, unable to continue and just dropped on a random roof, sucking in huge, pained breaths. The other three slowed down, reluctantly coming back and waiting for him. They were all panting, though not quite as heavily as Keigo and not nearly as loud. They had escaped through those exhausting maneuvers, and were now taking a much-needed break for Keigo's sake. The four moved down to an alley when they gained their breath, to be more comfortable as the sun went down and the night fell.

"Shit!" Renji swore loudly, slapping an empty aluminum can and instantly recoiling, holding his hand to his chest. The razor sharp edge of the can's top had cut his hand, and Rukia smacked him in the shoulder while admonishing him for being an idiot. "Renji, are you retarded?? We can't have you getting a goddamn infection!" Rukia hissed, and Renji glared at the wall as she wrapped up the bleeding wound for him. "Shut up, I'm fine." He spoke lowly, and she gave a hard jerk to the bit of spare bandages she was currently winding round his hand. He hissed, gritted his teeth at it and she worked in silence. Angry silence. And in that angry silence, they could hear a wet cough down the dark dead end alley, heavy breathing. Renji and Ichigo looked at one another before standing, Rukia hanging back with Keigo. The brunette himself looked at them and then down the alley worriedly, frowning quite heavily. "We don't even know what's down there! Come on guys, we can just turn around and go right now." He urged, but was ignored as Ichigo and Renji continued cautiously down the alleyway. They were swallowed by the dark shadows, and silence reined on for a moment before Rukia and Keigo heard a "Holy shit!" from Renji, some swearing, the sound of someone hitting something and then shuffling. Slowly did Ichigo and Renji return to view, but with a third person being assisted in walking between them, an arm over each shoulder. He was bald, was what Keigo first noticed. Second was that he was bloody, cut up quite heavily and his loose white shirt was splotched with blood. Third was that he looked really pissed off. Ichigo and Renji dropped him near the dumpster, and Rukia started fingering the bandages she had left.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, and the man laughed dryly. "Nobody. Nobody at all." He told them, smirking a bit. Keigo was staring, and instantly caught a hot glare. "The fuck you lookin' at." The nameless bald man spat, and Asano waved his hands in a surrendering type motion. "Nothing, nothing! Sorry." He muttered the last part, before going silent. "What happened to you?" Rukia asked him this time, and the man scowled. "None of your fucking business." Ichigo and Renji sighed at his uncooperativeness, before Ichigo felt his scarf slipping down again. The bald man watched as he went to fix it and stopped, staring wide-eyed at his left cheek. "You. You're an Anointed." He stated, sounding a bit dumbfounded. Kurosaki pulled up his scarf, glaring off at the wall. "Yeah. What about it?" He said almost defensively, and to everyone's surprise, the bald man laughed. "Ha! Never thought I'd see the day. You guys are hard to come by anymore." He sighed, leaning his head down a bit to stare at the ground with a tinge of regret in his voice. Pulling the fabric of his ripped shirt, looked to have been cut by some sort of blade, a large Y was emblazoned on his chest above his left nipple.

"Another one." Rukia stated quietly, and the man nodded. She herself pulled off her glove, showing him the K on her hand and he nodded. Keigo took the hint and showed the man his own Stigmata, the M on his wrist. Ichigo made sure his O was covered up well. Renji just watched. "Well damn, we've got ourselves a freak show, eh?" The bald man laughed, letting his shirt fall back into place in the loose, shredded way. Everyone was quiet, not really knowing how to respond to that. Renji finally spoke up in the end though, looking at the unnamed man. "So, you're Anointed. Got a name?" He asked again for a name, and the man smirked. "Ikkaku Madarame. Yours?" Ikkaku asked them, and they all gave their own names.

"Rukia Kuchiki." "Renji Abarai." "Keigo Asano." "Ichigo Kurosaki." They all spoke in turn, before Rukia tossed the roll of bandages at Ikkaku. He caught them, as she yawned and turned away. "We're not gonna ask you how you got those, but we're not gonna let you bleed out either. Wrap yourself up, we're camping here for the night." She took control, giving orders as if voted the leader. Ichigo, Keigo and Renji just kind of shrugged, trusting her judgment. Madarame blinked at the order, before beginning to unroll them and wind them around what he could reach. They weren't deep cuts, just long and clean. The bald man looked forlorn as he did, and not even Keigo dared ask him why. They all settled in, Keigo marveling at how the newcomer didn't even ask them why they were helping him. He did notice, however, that the man wasn't trusting them and was in fact watching them as they got ready to sleep. And he noticed that Ichigo was staring right at Ikkaku, who was now staring back. The tension was thick in the air, before Ichigo tossed his coat at the bald man's head.

"Cold out tonight." Ichigo more or less answered the unspoken question, as Ikkaku tched and threw it back. "I don't need it." He stated, before having it thrown at him again. "Yeah, you do. All that blood on you is gonna cool down and you're gonna be cold as hell tonight. Now shut the hell up and take it." The orange haired teen spoke coldly, and Ikkaku scoffed and set the coat aside on the ground. He moved to sit on it, and Ichigo didn't say a word.

Keigo Asano watched them all wind down, for the first time in his life realizing how damn hungry he was. None of the others had said a word though, and he wouldn't either. They must be feeling the same thing.


End file.
